Brake for railways



(No Model.) 4 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. D. EAMES.

BRAKE FOR RAILWAYS.

No. 354,401. Patented Dec. 14, 1886.

2 Sheets-Shet- 2.

(No Model.)

B. D. EAMES.

BRAKE FOR RAILWAYS.

Patented Dec. 14,- 1886.

8 m a a ili===i===== come in contact with the wheel.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELISHA D. EAMES, OF 'WATERTOXVN, NFAV YORK.

BRAKE FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 354,401, dated December 14, 1886.

Application filed Ott her 2-1, 1885. Serial No. 180,805.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELISHA D. EAMES, of Watertown, in the county of Jefferson and State ofNewYorlg'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brakes for Railways, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention is more particularly adapted for use with a vacuum-brake, and the object of the invention is to automatically take up the wear of the brake-shoes so that they always, when not applied to the wheels, shall stand the same distance from the peripheries of the wheels; or, in other words, so that the same amount of slack shall be always found between the brake-shoe and the wheel.

The effective stroke of the piston or diaphragm of the power brake is calculated to apply the brakes to the wheels with sufficient force when the shoes are new, and the distance that the brake-beam and brake-shoes have to move is reduced as much as possible. The wear of the brakeshoesincreases the dis tance they must be moved to cause them to This wear, being cdnstan-t, soon takes up all the stroke of the piston or diaphragm, and the result is that the piston bottoms in the cylinder andthe shoes will not touch the wheels. t is the duty of the inspector to adjust the slack by turning a swivel-nut or moving the lazy-lever forward, or by other means which have been provided for this purpose. Experience shows that this duty is often imperfectly attended to, or omitted entirely, and thus the engineer loses control of his train either partially or wholly. My invention is designed to per form this service automatically, and is so arranged that the least wear of the brake-shoe will be at once taken up when the brakes are released and the same amount of slack always maintained between the wheel and the shoe.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a truck carrying a portion of a vacuum brake mechanism, together with the improvements constituting the present invention. Fig. 2 is an end view of the truck with the abovenamed features. Fig. 3 is a plan View. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are (No model.)

views in perspective ofdetached details of the invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in the respective figures.

The truck-frame is shown by A and the wheels by B. ,0 Care the brakebeams, and D D the shoes suspended in the ordinary manner by links a from the frame A. i

E is the vacuunrchamber, having the flexihaving connection with the brakelever d, which latter is pivotally attached to the brakebeam a atf.

F is the lower brakerod, one end of which attaches to the lever (I, while the other end connects with the lever g, which is secured to the brake-beam at the opposite end of the truck. One end of the lower brake-rod, F, is threaded, as shown at g, and upon this threaded portion a long nut, h, is mounted. The opposite end of the nut is also interiorl y threaded to receive the screw end of the swivel-bolt g. The lower or short arm ofthe brake-lever d attaches to the swivel-bolt g", which is shown in section in Fig. at. It will be seen that the screw portion 0 is loose upon collars e e of the bolt. About centrally of the length of the nut h is a groove, h, (shown in Fig. 5,) which receives a ring, 9', formed in two sections and bolted together at h h. The ring has at its upper side ajaw, if, which serves as a fulcrum of the bell-crank I. The upper end or arm of the bell-crank attaches by a link, it, to the brake-lever, d. The lower arm of the bell-crank is bent inwardly, as shown in Fig. 6, and upon said bent end is pivoted a pawl, Z. The pawl engages aratchet, Z, which is formed solidly around the nut h. The upper end of the bell-crank I enters a slotted support, J, extending from the under side of the truck.

The operationis as follows: The brake-shoes are first adjusted to give the amount of slack which it is desired to maintain. Power having been applied to the brakes, the upper end of the brake-lever d is drawn forward toward the center of the truck "as far as the brakeshoes will allow. The bellcrank I, by reason of its connection with the lever d, is also drawn forward, which causes its lower arm to be raised and the pawl slightly lifted, but not ble diaphragm b,'to which the rod 0 is attached,

the bolt proper and held in place between the enough to catch the ratchet-tooth next above that with which it is engaged. As the brakeshoes are worn, the movement of the lever d and bell-crank I is increased, and when suffi- 5 cient movement has been allowed by reason of the wear of the shoes the pawl will be lifted sufficiently to catch the tooth next above, and when the brakes are released the pawl will cause apartial revolution of the nut h :0 upon the threaded end of the lower brakerod, F, and the screw end of theswivel-bolt g, by which means the normal position of the brake-levers, and consequently of the diaphragm or piston with which they are con- 15 nected, is maintained, and the diaphragm or piston will at all times have the same movement, which is,as above stated, just enough to properly bring the shoes in contact with the wheels. 20 I Theabove operationsareentirelyautomatic.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In a railroad-brake, the brake-levers, the threaded brake-rod F, nut 71, ratchet Z, and strap 9', combined with a swivel-bolt, a pawl carried by the strap, and means for con- 2 5 necting said pawl witha brake-lever, substantially as set forth.

2. In a railroad-brake, a brake-rod having two threaded sections, one end forming a swivel, a nut upon said threaded sections of 0 the rod, a ratchet solid with or attached to said nut, a strap fitted loosely around said nut,

a bell-crank mounted in said strap, and apawl pivoted to the bell-crank, all combined with the brake-levers, beams, and power-applying 3 5 devices, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set. my hand and seal.

ELISHA D. EAMES. [L.s.]

Witnesses:

GEO. SMITH, L. B. STERLING. 

